1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system, a computer-readable recording medium storing driver program, and an image forming method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, directory services such as Active Directory and e-Directory have been introduced in order to manage users and devices in a network system. Some image forming apparatuses such as a printer, a copier, and a multifunction peripheral (MFP) have a network function, which performs management of users and groups by the directory service. To perform the management of the users by the directory service, a user authentication for a user who has performed a login operation to the image forming apparatus is performed on the server device for the directory service.
On the image forming apparatus, an authorization process using only a function permitted to a logged-in user among various functions is performed. In the authorization process, authorization information specifying a function which is permitted or prohibited for use has been previously set on the image forming apparatus for each user, and some functions to be used by the logged-in user are limited by the authorization information.
In addition, there is a system providing the image forming apparatus with the authorization information corresponding to the logged-in user, by an intermediate server device including the authorization information for each user. In this system, the intermediate server device performs centralized management of the authorization information for each user, but it is difficult to flexibly set the authorization information on users and groups.
For example, in a case of setting the authorization information on a group different from a domain group in the directory service, the authorization information cannot be set collectively, and hence the authorization information must be set for each of a plurality of users belonging to the group. This makes the process of setting up the authorization information more complicated. It is possible to additionally set the authorization information in the directory service on a group basis, but this raises a fear that bad influences may be exerted upon the directory service that is already in operation in a company or the like.
In the system, the image forming apparatus obtains the authorization information on the user who executes a job from the intermediate server device. Therefore, in the case of causing the image forming apparatus to execute the job via the network from the host terminal device, the user cannot be identified unless the user has logged in to the image forming apparatus, and hence it is difficult to acquire the authorization information. Accordingly, in the case of causing the image forming apparatus to execute the job via the network from the host terminal device, the user needs to have logged in to the image forming apparatus by transmitting the user authentication information (such as a password) from the host terminal device to the image forming apparatus.
However, it is not preferred in terms of security to transmit such user authentication information via the network. Further, in the system, it is necessary to log in to the intermediate server device at first, and hence it is necessary to log in twice in total to both the intermediate server device and the image forming apparatus in order to cause the image forming apparatus to execute a job via the network from the host terminal device.